Stopped from going to Gorakhpur: Ex-IPS officer Amitabh Thakur who challenged UP CM Adityanath
Lucknow, Aug 21: Former Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who was given premature retirement, on Saturday claimed that he was stopped by police from going to Gorakhpur, citing a threat to his life.
Thakur was given compulsory retirement on March 23 in "public interest" as he was found "unfit" for the remaining tenure of his service.
Earlier, Thakur's family had announced that he would be contesting the next year's state Assembly polls against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, terming it a fight for principles.
The Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat was represented by Adityanath before becoming the chief minister of the state.
In a video statement, Thakur said when he was about to leave for Gorakhpur in the morning with one of his friends, huge police force along with the Gomtinagar circle officer arrived there, saying he cannot go there.
"When I asked them to explain the reason for this, I was told that there is a threat to my life," he said.
"In that case (UP CM) Yogi Adityanath should not go anywhere because it is said that he faces a threat to life from the ISI and a number of other people. But he goes along with the security arrangement. I should also be given security and not stopped in the name of a threat. I was told that I am facing the anger of women from a specific community," Thakur said.
He added that this shows that Yogi Adityanath is afraid of a "small person" like him.
"This is laughable, shows the reality and is a murder of democracy," Thakur said.
On August 14, Thakur's family had announced that he would be contesting the next year's state Assembly polls against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In a statement issued here, Thakur's wife Nutan said it is a fight for principles for him.
"Shri Adityanath undertook many undemocratic, improper, suppressive and discriminatory steps during his tenure as the chief minister," she alleged.
"Hence, Amitabh shall be contesting the elections against Shri Adityanath from any place he contests,"she said.
Following a decision taken by the Union Home Ministry, Thakur was given compulsory retirement on March 23 in "public interest".
He was "not found fit to be retained for the remaining tenure of his service", an order from the Union Home Ministry had said of Thakur, who would have completed his service in 2028.
In 2017, Thakur had urged the Centre to change his cadre state.
The officer was suspended on July 13, 2015, days after he had accused Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh of threatening him.
A vigilance enquiry was also initiated against him.
However, the Lucknow Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal stayed his suspension in April 2016 and ordered his reinstatement with full salary with effect from October 11, 2015.
गोरखपुर तथा अयोध्या यात्रा को पुलिस द्वारा निरस्त किये जाने के पूरे घटनाक्रम पर मेरा वक्तव्य pic.twitter.com/V7uJ4OxBZf
— AmitabhThakur (@Amitabhthakur) August 21, 2021
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Kharge speaks with CPI's D Raja, seeks support for TVK
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has spoken with CPI general secretary D Raja and urged his party to support the TVK for the formation of a secular government in Tamil Nadu, sources said on Friday.
Sources said Kharge called Raja on Thursday to emphasise that the CPI should take an early decision so that the BJP does not get a chance to try and grab power through the backdoor.
Raja is understood to have said that CPI will consult its local allies, including the DMK, and decide on it soon.
The Congress, a long-time ally of the DMK, on Wednesday announced its support to actor-politician Vijay's TVK to form the government in Tamil Nadu and severed ties with the Dravidian major.
The DMK dubbed the act of Congress to snap ties with it and join forces with TVK as "backstabbing."
The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly in the April 23 polls. Though the Congress, which has five MLAs, has extended support to the TVK, the actor-politician-led party is still short of as many seats to touch 118, the majority mark.
The CPI executive committee, which met here on Friday over support to the TVK, is involved in weighing the pros and cons, the party said.
The Communist Party of India is keen on safeguarding its ideology and ensuring that a common minimum programme is followed in case the party decides to back the TVK, a source in the party said.
The CPI won two seats in the April 23 Assembly election in alliance with the DMK.
Earlier, CPI general secretary D Raja told PTI Videos that the party was keen on keeping the right wing away from the state.
"We will come to some conclusion and we want a stable government that will work in the interest of the state, keep away communal right-wing forces and uphold secular democratic values," Raja said, adding, the party's position would be clear by the evening
